Mariah Carey CONFIRMS Bryan Tanaka is her boyfriend... but doesn't feel comfortable talking about personal life

Carey, who posted an Instagram picture with her and Tanaka drinking champagne in a tub on Valentine's Day, confirmed the romance in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, though she declined to say much more than that.

'I'm just going to be like "I really don't talk about my personal life." Because that's what I used to do and it really worked for a minute, back, a while ago,' she said, smiling.

'I just don't feel comfortable talking about my personal life. ... Me and my boyfriend don't want to do that.'

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Confirmed: Mariah Carey called Bryan Tanaka her 'boyfriend' in a recent interview with Associated Press as she shared this photo of them on Valentine's Day on Tuesday

Carey's reluctance to talk in the media about her romance is understandable given the drama that erupted when she and billionaire James Packer broke up last year. The split wasn't amicable and led to plenty of tabloid headlines.

But it seems to have also inspired Carey musically. Her latest single, I Don't, featuring rapper YG, is about a breakup: 'We got together and did the song in like a day and the video the next day.'

In the video, Carey dresses in sexy white lingerie with a white bridal garter on her thigh. In one line, YG raps, 'Hold up, give me my ring back. Never mind you could keep that.'

Meanwhile, Carey flips off the camera with the ring on her middle finger - a ring that looks just like the one Packer gave her.

The video also shows her throwing a wedding gown in a fire pit, a gown that looks very much like the Valentino dress she had custom-made for her wedding.

On the go: The singer and her boytoy spotted out in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Toughen up your look with a studded bag by Christian Louboutin

With a new season comes a new wardrobe and as much as we're looking forward to splashing out on new clothes and shoes for spring, we'll be hoping to bag some new arm candy too.

The bonus of spending a lot on your handbag is that it will dress up whatever you're wearing and give it an expensive edge. So if you fancy investing in a designer piece look no further than Mariah Carey for inspiration.

The diva can always be relied upon to go high end whether she's on stage or out on a date. This is the woman who wore full length Alaïa and heels to take her children to the park let's not forget.

So the fact she's carrying a new Christian Louboutin tote is no surprise and the fact it's adorned with spiky studs is no surprise either. This is classic Mariah and the good news is it's available to buy now.

'It was fun and it wasn't that very expensive one that they think it is,' she clarified. 'You shouldn't be wasteful, so I'm going to do something with charity and wedding dresses, I think.'

Carey is due to hit the road this spring with Lionel Richie for All the Hits Tour, which runs from March 15 through May 27. She met Richie for the first time when she was invited to sing Hero with Luciano Pavarotti in 1999.

For the tour - hitting such cities Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, New York, St. Louis, Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and Seattle, among many others - she'll be bringing her 5 year-old twins, Moroccan Scott Cannon and Monroe Cannon, along for the journey.

Hanging out: The couple were pictured at a Los Angeles Clippers game with retired boxer Floyd Mayweather

'Roc and Roe do get to come,' she said. 'They love to go onstage and actually they are very musical already.

'They have their school, and they have their teacher. They are doing really well but they don't love the school, let's just put it that way. But they are happy when they get to go with me on tour and there's other kids there, too, so it's good.'

Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. But she says staying hot in the game isn't easy.

'It's very difficult, especially the way the business is now,' she said. 'I truly love music and always have. It's not like ... "Oh, here's a way to get famous." It wasn't any of those things. It was my release, it was my everything and it still is. So I think that I'm just grateful that people still tune in.'

The return: She had her first performance since her New Year's Eve debacle on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday

She also once again addressed the debacle on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve where she stopped singing during her live performance after having technical issues, which led to fingers pointing between Dick Clark Productions and Carey.

'I didn't obsess over the New Year's Eve thing,' she added. 'I mean, I was upset about the fact that people didn't understand, but it's like, I can only explain it like this to you.'

She added: 'It's like I'm the only one that has to make five million comebacks... For me there are different rules, I don't know why. I don't know why it's not OK that I was just like victimized and vilified by the situation.'